Le temps de l'aventure (2013)

Alix is performing Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea at a theater in Calais. On her way to an audition for a role, she catches the eye of a man on the train taking her to Paris and is drawn to his sad expression. When they arrive at the station, he asks her how to get to Sainte-Clotilde Church. Alix seems a little flustered, struggling with various practical problems and the rapidly passing time during her tightly packed day in Paris. Unable to reach her partner by phone, once her audition is over she feels irresistibly compelled to see the British stranger again and, late in the morning, goes to Sainte-Clotilde Church, where a funeral is taking place. When he encounters Alix again, he too is intrigued by the young woman who is clearly following him. They exchange a few words on the sidewalk, but when he goes back up to his hotel room, Alix decides to join him. They spend a few more stolen hours together, away from their respective lives, before Alix catches her train back to Calais, where she is due to perform that evening. Alix slips away without a word, but further payment problems lead her to her sister’s home to ask for money, despite their strained relationship. As a result, she misses her early-afternoon train and has to take the next one. While waiting, she decides to go back and see the man to explain herself. The two lovers are astonished to see each other again. They spend a few hours together, talking about themselves and opening up to each other as they walk through the city, bustling with people celebrating the Fête de la Musique. At 43, she has only just become pregnant, and her partner doesn’t know; the man is married, has grown-up children, and had a great love affair in Paris while he was a student. Alix misses her train again, and pressing questions arise between them. The time for the evening train to Calais is approaching—the last one Alix can take if she is to meet her commitments and perform onstage. On the station platform, she learns the man’s name, Doug, and finally manages to reach her partner by phone after a day of failed attempts. Doug watches her board the train, then realizes that he is holding an envelope bearing Alix’s address.